Countdown
by BladesofTwilight
Summary: They've only got a week. A week until their world starts to slowly fall apart. For Hibari Kyoya, who was given a part of the burden to bare, things do not go as smoothly as he would like. Some 1896, along with other pairings. Set Ten Years Later.


This is my first attempt at a Reborn fic, so I hope I did alright. The timeline is TYL. ^^

**Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, or any of its characters.**

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><p>Hibari Kyoya – the Vongola's Guardian of Cloud – the aloof one that stood separately from the family, but protected and defended it in times of need. He was around the age of twenty-five and was considered the strongest of all the Guardians. He sat slouched over the dark cherry desk before him. The backs of his hands turned over to his palms as they rubbed his blue eyes, which were laced in red – bloodshot from the long hours he had been staying up at his work.<p>

He was planning, plotting, and to some extent of the imagination, going against those who call him their comrade or friend, even if on orders and in good intentions. Once in a while, since that day a few nights ago, he had sat awake, wondering why it had to be him who knew His plan; why _he_ had to be the one to carry it out.

And how he'd pull it off.

xxxx

"_That's all. You'll need to find a way to have Tsunayoshi get hit with the special bullet we created; make it seem like an incident during the battle. Do you think you can manage that, Hibari-san?" A man, who seemed a bit younger than Hibari stood before him. He had red hair and green eyes, and wore green-blue glasses. He was dressed in a beige blazer, an orange shirt, navy pants, and black shoes._

"_Shoichi-kun, Hibari-san, before we decide this definitively, I need to know if you're alright with going through with this." A third man was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt. He had spiky brown hair and a thin ponytail._

_Hibari nodded slightly. "I'm fine with it. Though, I hope you're aware of the effects this will have on the others. Can _you_ stand to let those consequences occur, Sawada Tsunayoshi?"_

_Tsuna took a moment to think, though he knew there would be no other choice. _'…Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto, Onii-chan, Haru, Lambo, Chrome, Mukuro… Kyoko-chan… I hope you understand I need to make this decision for your safety…'

_He looked up at Shoichi and Hibari. "It's our only choice."_

"_Alright then, I'll do what I can, Sawada Tsunayoshi." Hibari seemed to smirk, seeing Tsuna's tension go down a bit, before he exited the room._

_The moment Hibari left, Shoichi turned back to Tsuna. "Quite frankly, I didn't expect you to approve the plan. But if you hadn't made this decision, we would lose everything. …Is that what convinced you?"_

xxxx

"Well… It's not like I can trust those herbivores to do it, or assist… They'd get soft and fall out on it. Not to mention, they'd just get in my way…" Sighing at his own imagery to that kind of outcome, he turned and leaned back in his chair, loosening his pewter tie and undoing the first button on his purple shirt. His hand went up and pushed his pure black bangs out of his face, and he rubbed his eyes one last time before he sat back up straight.

Several minutes passed until a sharp knock at the door broke him out of his train of thought. Looking over, he could see the silhouette of a tall man with spiky hair through the shoji doors to his quarters.

"Yo! Hibari!" The man's voice was harsh and loud. Without giving him a moment to respond, the man slid the door open in a rather fast and inconsiderate way. He was dressed in a suit similar to Hibari's, with the exception of a yellow collared shirt. His hair was spiked up in the front, and snow white. A white bandage was across his nose, and his hands were wrapped in bandages as well. It wasn't due to any injury, but that he was a boxer and used his fists in combat. Sasagawa Ryohei was the Vongola's Guardian of the Sun.

Hibari made an annoyed sigh before getting out of his chair and walking up to the other man, keeping him away from his desk and what he had been working on for Him. "What do you want, Sasagawa Ryohei? I'm not in the mood for visitors, especially unwelcome visitors." He did his best to not grab his tonfa and beat Ryohei until he left his room. Just Ryohei on his own was enough of a crowd to annoy him.

Ryohei shrugged, saying, "Well, I was just wondering what happened to you. You've been cooped up in your room for days and we haven't seen much of you, even less than usual."

"I've been busy, and I still am. Sawada gave me some work to do, so I'd appreciate it if you'd get out of my room." Hibari scoffed.

"Kyo-san!" Another man came through the door and bowed quickly upon entering in Hibari's direction. He was in a black suit with a white shirt, and wore his black hair in a pompadour style. "I'm sorry for the disturbance. I tried explaining that you were busy, but Sasagawa-san insisted and—"

"It's fine, Kusakabe. He was just about to leave." Hibari looked away from Ryohei before going back to his desk and sitting down.

"But Hibari—" Ryohei stepped toward him, but was cut off by a tonfa swinging just a hair's width away from his face. He sighed and backed up. "Alright, alright. I'm going. Just don't forget that we have to still prepare for Sawada's anniversary party next week. Octopus-head is having a fit trying to manage all that he took on." Ryohei trailed off as he left the room, saying it out loud, somewhat to Hibari, and somewhat to himself.

Hibari put the tonfa on his desk. "Tch… the anniversary party… All that work is going to go to waste, so I don't see the point… Even He knows that." He said quietly.

Kusakabe sat, his legs folded under him, not too far from Hibari's desk. "Kyo-san, I got that information you needed. Do you want it now, or for me to archive for you?"

Hibari shook his head. "Now would be fine."

"We've gotten word that the Millefiore Family has started in a takedown of other Families around the area, and that they will soon have the manpower to even go after Families like the Cavallone and the Vongola. There have been a few names of who are in charge of these attacks, but two names that keep coming up are Irie Shoichi, and Byakuran Gesso."

"And the timing on this?"

"If they do come after the Vongola, we have around a week's worth of time."

"I see…" Hibari quickly scratched down the information in his notes. _'At least Irie is doing his part. If he can keep it up, our plan should be very smooth…'_ He looked back at Kusakabe. "Anything else?"

"No, that's all we were able to get. Rest assured I will keep you up to date, Kyo-san."

"Yes, thank you, Kusakabe. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Hibari turned back to his notes and the outline of his plan. At that, Kusakabe bowed slightly as he stood up and exited the room.

xxxx

The next day, Hibari was called into Tsuna's office, along with Chrome Dokuro, the Vongola's Mist Guardian. She was a couple years younger than Hibari, and though she looked frail, had grown into a very capable fighter, especially in the terms of her level of Illusions. Her hair was layered and a deep purple that matched her left eye; the other was covered by a black eye patch with the Mist crest detailed onto it. She was dressed in a black suit with a pencil skirt, and a blue shirt with a differently shaded blue ruffle tie. Her black knee-high boots had low heels and silver skulls on the sides.

"Hibari-san, I would like you and Chrome to look into the Millefiore Family. Carry it out in any way you seem fit. Thanks to the information you and Kusakabe-san had gathered, I'd like to gauge their current strength and—" Tsuna stopped mid-sentence as the door to his office opened.

"Ah, excuse me, Tenth! I'm sorry I'm late!" Gokudera Hayato walked in and bowed to Tsuna.

"Oh, Gokudera-kun! Don't worry about it; I was going to wait for you anyway." Tsuna smiled at his loyal right hand man.

He was the Storm Guardian, and the right hand man of the Sky Boss, that being Tsuna. He looked like a tough guy, having the top button of his red collared shirt undone and his black tie worn loosely, let alone the expressions he usually had on his face. His hair was medium length and silver, and his eyes were a blue green. He was more than likely one of the people who cared about Tsuna the most. He was one of his first good friends after all.

Tsuna cleared his throat, trying to get his thoughts back on track. "Uh… Oh yes, anyway, Hibari-san, Chrome, I want you two to go out on recon. And Gokudera-kun, when they return, I would like you to take whatever information they gather to organize a defense plan and share it with Hibari-san."

"Yes, Tenth. I'll do my best!" Gokudera said, being a bit too enthusiastic.

"Yes, Bossu." Chrome nodded.

Hibari simply made a 'hm' in response before being the first one to leave. Gokudera yelled at him, "Hey! Show more respect for the Tenth!" as he did so, and followed. Chrome, upon noticing the others had left, made a quick bow at Tsuna and hurried after Hibari.

After throwing a few words back and forth between Gokudera and himself, Hibari and Chrome left the Vongola Mansion to carry out their mission. They had decided that the best thing they could do was find one of the smaller Millefiore outposts, and use illusions to mask themselves and get inside. Since the closest one wasn't very close at all, Hibari had requested a car.

For a good ten minutes into the ride, Chrome had remained very silent, looking over to Hibari every so often. Picking up on this, Hibari decided to be the first one to say something. "Is something the matter, Chrome?" If he hadn't been driving, he would have made her look him in the eye before responding.

"Hm? Not… not really. I just haven't heard much from Mukuro-sama lately. It seems he's looking into the Millefiore on his own…" She sighed, folding her hands in her lap.

"That's just like Rokudo. He can handle himself just fine; you and I both know that."

"Yes, you're right." Chrome tried to change the subject, as it was a touchy thing to talk about Mukuro, of all people, around Hibari. "Um, anyway… It's been a while since we've been sent out together, hasn't it?" She put on a smile, seeing Hibari do the same.

"Yes, it has been."

"Have you been doing well? I haven't seen you in months either."

"I've been… busy. You know, Tsunayoshi's anniversary party is next week. I've… been finishing up my part. The herbivores wouldn't stop bothering me until I took up overseeing one aspect of it."

"Sounds like it's going to be great. I've been trying my best to keep it a secret from Kyoko-chan. And… speaking of anniversaries, how about, after this mission and the party are over, we try and find time for us too? I've… missed you, Kyoya."

"That sounds like… a wonderful idea…" Hibari half smiled as he turned the corner, parking in a small parking garage at the side of a shopping district. He got out and went around to the other side of the car, opening Chrome's door. "We've got to cut through the shopping district here, and then we can get to the entrance to the Vongola underground base in this area. They have mapped out the locations of the Millefiore bases in the area that they've been able to find."

Chrome took his hand and got out of the car, nodding. "Pick one, and infiltrate?"

"That's the plan."

xxxx

"S-Sorry, Kyoya… I should've been more careful." Chrome held her trident close to her chest. They were pinned against a wall in one of the Millefiore bases, being hunted down by soldiers. The sleeves of Chrome's suit were torn at and her legs were scratched up. Hibari had a gash in his thigh and the side of his face was scraped so badly, he had to keep one of his eyes shut to avoid blood running into it.

He stood close to her, one arm protectively stretched in front of her. "As long as we get out with that thumb drive, we'll be fine. No matter what, don't let go of it." She patted the pocket on her jacket, confirming it was still there. He leaned to the side, looking around the corner. "I don't see anyone coming… I think this will be our only opening." He took Chrome's wrist, making a run across the corridor. He growled under his breath. "I hate running from herbivores."

"I heard something over here! C'mon!" The voice of one of the soldiers echoed down from the other corridor.

Hibari held Chrome's wrist a bit tighter, tensing at hearing the approaching footsteps. "You get out first!" He whispered to her, picking her up and holding her up to the ceiling vent they got in through. She struggled against his hold a bit before being nearly tossed up.

"Kyoya, I… I'd better see you back at the base!" She bit her lip and looked down at him. He simply nodded to her. At that she hurried through the vent to get out.

Seconds later, several Millefiore soldiers had surrounded Hibari. They weren't an issue for him on a normal basis, but as he had to previously protect Chrome, along with the injuries sustained while doing that, he felt his confidence waver.

Outside of the outpost, Chrome could only look back down the hill at the structure from the woods. "I don't want to leave him down there but… I have to get this information back to Bossu…"

"_Midori tanabiku, namimori no~. Dai naku shou naku, nami ga ii~._"

Looking up, Chrome could see the familiar yellow bird that often accompanied Hibari fly over her head. It circled a few times before landing on her shoulder.

Chrome gasped. "Ah, Hibird, would you take this to Bossu?" She looked at the small creature, pulling out the flash drive from her pocket. She slung the small string it was on around Hibird's neck and it flew off. "Thank you!" She called after it before heading back toward the base.

Several of the soldiers were on their backs when the corridor filled with a thick mist. The 'click' of heels could be heard as a shadow dropped down behind Hibari.

"I told you to get out…" He nearly snapped at her through his labored breathing.

"It's been taken care of. I'm not leaving you here to get killed." Chrome looked back at him and saw a few burns on his jacket, and a bullet wound in his side. His purple shirt was half stained in blood. "Just stay right where you are."

The mist cleared around the pair and seemed to solidify into pillars of ice around them. Chrome spun her trident over her head, and the pillars shattered, sending ice shrapnel into the bodies of the remaining soldiers. Tapping the end of the trident back on the floor, she and Hibari were raised several feet up to the vent. She took hold on the back of his jacket and helped him into it. She wasn't that strong physically, but the little assistance she could give him was more than enough.

They moved slowly on their way out of the outpost, Chrome stopping Hibari every so often when she thought he was in pain. It irritated him because he just wanted to get out as fast as possible, and he felt himself slowly losing his pride as she fawned over him. A few minutes before they had exited, she had taken Hibari's cell phone and called Kusakabe, Hibari's main subordinate, to have a helicopter ready for their leave. He came right on time and helped her get Hibari inside, and it sped back to the Mansion.

xxxx

Chrome was to go straight to Tsuna's office once they returned. Though she would've rather stayed to help Hibari, she knew it was her duty.

xxxx

_"B-But, Kusakabe-san! What about Kyoya?" She pleaded, trying to hold back tears. Hibari had passed out on the way back._

_"Please don't worry about him, Dokuro-san. I'll make sure he's taken care of. You need to get this to Sawada-san, I'm assuming? Hibird had flown past me and dropped it in my hands." Kusakabe said as he reached into his pocket, pulling out the flash drive. "You will be the first to know of Kyo-san's condition; I promise."_

_She clutched the flash drive in her small, scratched up hands. "I… suppose so. Yes… Thank you, Kusakabe-san."_

xxxx

She pursed her lips as she knocked on the office door. A yawn and a 'Come in.' could be heard from inside.

"Um… Bossu?" She looked around the dimly lit office and stepped inside. A mess of brown hair rose from the desk. Tsuna's tie was loosened and he had small bags under his eyes. He'd clearly fallen asleep at his desk.

"Chrome?" He blinked a few times before gaining his bearings and standing from his desk and walking over. "Ah—are you alright? Your jacket is all bloody!" He nearly panicked in his usual fashion.

She shook her head. "No, no, I'm fine, Bossu. Kyo—I, I mean… Hibari-kun was injured worse than I was."

"Hibari-san? Is he alright?" Tsuna's eyebrows arched upward as he led her further in the office and had her sit down. He leaned against the front of his desk.

"Um… I'm not sure quite yet. Kusakabe-san is looking after him." Her head dipped down slightly. "Anyway… Bossu, I have this for you." She handed him the flash drive. "We managed to get some information out of the Millefiore computers."

Tsuna took it with a thanking nod and put it on his desk. "I'll have Giannini look at it in the morning, and then have Gokudera-kun work on it. You should get some rest, Chrome. Thank you for your hard work."

She nodded in response and rose from her seat. As she opened the door and was about to step out, Tsuna called after her, "And Chrome! I'm sure Hibari-san is fine! You get some sleep and visit him in the morning. I'm sure he'd like to see you." He smiled.

Looking back at her boss before exiting, she softly smiled back. "Yes. Thank you, Bossu."

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><p>Well... I haven't submitted anything here in years. Feels good. I hope you enjoyed~.<p>

Please leave me a review so I know how I'm doing!


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